Friday, June 4, 2010

"NO! No, you can't play Sudoku on my iPhone! You've already used up your 'computer time' for the week by watching all that television last night!" "But Mummy, your phone isn't a computer?"

That was a conversation I overheard on a foggy morning train to the city the other day, and there's so much wrong with it. Well, apart from the fact that iPhones are really actually tiny super neat computers with telephone capacities... anyway, I digress.

The fact that parents seriously try to limit their kiddies' time on technology is absolutely absurd. I know that upon reading this all child owners (cough, parents, cough) are probably conjuring up multitudes of arguments revolving around hidden sex scenes embedded into video games and the inevitable desensitisation to violence. I'm not saying that you should strap your child's eyes open and force them to watch horrific film clips to a soundtrack by Ludwig Van. Or that the adult channel is suitable viewing. Not at all, my friends.

I just think that entertaining mediums can be educational. Learning doesn't have to be boring. Hello, Sesame Street? I'm sure the Count can teach the next generation how to say their one-two-threes as well as it taught mine (and this is the adult version). Plus it's been proven that platform games and first person shooters are excellent for developing hand eye co-ordination. And it's also a little known fact that my ridiculous accumulation of useless facts about kitty cats, space travel and medieval torture methods is thanks to our friends at DorlingKindersley and their range of educational games. And I haven't even gone into the educational values of puzzle and word games.

So for all those parents out there (who are probably too busy running around trying to velcro on your kids' ballet shoes or some shit to actually read this), please let your child watch some television. Just make sure it ain't porn.

* Warning: this blog serves as a parental guideline only. A good childhood should also include a healthy dose of sunshine, cuts and grazes from playing in the mud and a good wedgie or two from the class bully.